Portland entered FedExForum on Monday night and methodically handed the Griz a 103-92 loss — a defeat that compelled coach Lionel Hollins to verbally deliver a memo to his team about what to expect the rest of this week.

In losing their fourth straight home game, the Griz had a couple of frontcourt players knocked out of the game, and they collectively were beaten down by the Blazers' length and dogged defense.

Memphis never led and played in a double-digit ditch most of the game. When Portland felt threatened, it responded with heavy-handed runs.

"I told our guys that we played Boston, Detroit and Portland — all very physical games. Get ready for Wednesday because it's going to be the same way," Hollins said, referring to the Grizzlies' home game against Denver on Wednesday. "As we progress, this is how you have to play and how you have to be prepared to play against the good teams. They are all going to be physical. They are all going to be knocking you around."

The Griz were sent reeling from the opening tip and trailed 23-8 less than eight minutes into the game. The Blazers made nine of their first 10 shots before taking a 55-48 lead into halftime.

Memphis scored the first four points of the third quarter. What followed was an 11-0 run by the Blazers, who took a 73-66 lead into the fourth period. From there, the Griz watched the Blazers extend their advantage to as many as 18 points.

Portland finished the game shooting 49 percent, using a good balance of interior scoring and nine 3-pointers to create a comfortable cushion. LaMarcus Aldridge's 22 points led five Blazers in double-digit scoring. Brandon Roy added 20 points — 14 of which came in the second quarter.

"We started out strong and then we never looked back," Aldridge said. "That was big for us. We've been having slow starts, getting down five and 10 points."

The Griz slipped back into a familiar theme one day after enjoying a fast start in a win at Detroit. Even though rookie O.J. Mayo (21 points on 9-of-16 shooting) found an offensive groove after weeks of struggling, the Griz mostly struggled to score and was shooting 39 percent through three quarters.

Adding to their troubles was the absence of starting forward Darrell Arthur and reserve center Darko Milicic. Both left the game in the first half with injuries and didn't return.

That development forced Hollins to employ small lineups with Rudy Gay spending a lot of time at power forward. Gay finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, but the Griz were beaten 40-32 on the glass.

Portland's frontcourt also shot twice as well as Memphis at 63 percent.

"When you lose guys like Darrell and Darko, hard-working guys that crash the boards and that we rely on, it's tough," Griz guard Mike Conley said after scoring 20 points. "We can't play our game. We can't play our style of basketball. We were trying to get the pace up. We were trying to get some easy buckets. We just had to rebound — that's the thing. We didn't get too many and it really hurt our transition."

Portland won its fifth straight game over Memphis, including the last four meetings in FedExForum. The Blazers opened a five-game road trip on Sunday with a 98-80 loss to Atlanta.

The Griz, meanwhile, began a stretch of five games in seven days on Sunday with an 89-84 win at Detroit. The euphoria over that victory was short-lived in what could end up being a long week.

Memphis still must face Denver at home, New Orleans on the road and Boston at home before the week ends.

"Early on, (the Blazers) were doing a good job of being physical with us, knocking us off screens and keeping us from coming off screens," Hollins said. "It was a sign of a good team that got embarrassed (Sunday) that came back to try to get redemption. And they did."

Tip-ins

Veteran swingman Greg Buckner missed a third straight game with a bruised bone in his left knee. … Milicic complained about a strained lower back and left the game with four minutes remaining in the first quarter. … Arthur left in the second period with a strained right knee. He didn't return, and Hakim Warrick started the second half at power forward.